Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Setting the Default OS

In the preceding section, I set a new Timeout value that will cut down on the amount of time that is wasted before the operating system starts to load. That works great when your primary operating system is the default; but if it is not, you must remember to hit a key at the right moment every single boot. There is a much better way to handle the situation. Just make your primary operating system the default operating system in the Windows Boot Manager. This will allow you to benefit from the lower Timeout value and speed up the overall boot time.

Setting the default operating system can be configured with both the System Configuration utility or the command-line Boot Configuration Editor, bcdedit.exe. First, let's use the System Configuration utility:

1. Click on the Start button and type in msconfig and hit Enter.
2. Click on the Boot tab.
3. Select the operating system from the list you want to make the default and then click Set as default.
4. When finished click OK.

Using the System Configuration utility is the easiest way to set the default operating system but you can also set it with the bcdedit.exe utility. Follow the next steps to use the Boot Configuration Editor to set the default operating system:

1. Click the Start button and Type in Command Prompt.
2. Locate the Command Prompt shortcut at the top and right-click it to bring up the context menu.
3. Select Run as administrator from the context menu.
4. When the command prompt has loaded, you are ready to use the bcdedit .exe command. First, you need to get the ID of the operating system that you want to set as the default. To do this, type bcdedit /enum all in the open command prompt window. Scroll through the list of different entries and look for the one with the description matching "Windows 7".
5. After you have found the correct entry, note its identifier. That is used in the next step.
6. While still at the command prompt, run bcdedit /default (entry identifier). For example, I ran bcdedit /default {b2721d73-1db4-4c62-bf78-c548a880142d}.

The default operating system on the Window Boot Manager is now set. The next time you reboot, your changes will be in use.

Tip The Boot Configuration Editor is a powerful utility that you can also use to change many other settings of the Windows Boot Manager. Experiment with bcdedit.exe by running bcdedit /? from the command prompt. This will show you all the other available options and flags that you can use with the Boot Configuration Editor.